Huntsman Corp acquires Vadodra based Metrochem

Switzerland-based Huntsman Corporation, a global leader in chemical manufacturing and marketing, has acquired a city-based chemical manufacturing company. Metrochem Industries that used to manufacture intermediates and specialty products for textiles has been acquired by Huntsman.

Metrochem employed 700 people and its current annual sales are approximately worth Rs 2.4 billion. “It is a strategic acquisition for us. The manufacturing site in Vadodara is the second largest after our facility in Basel in Switzerland within the Huntsman Textile Effects division and it has potential for further expansion, especially in the field of specialty dyes and key intermediates needed for production of dyes in India,” said Paul Hulme, President, Huntsman Textile Effects division.

Hulme added that they will expand the Vadodara facility and invest about 20 million US dollars here over the period of next five years and also bring in more employees.

Huntsman, which clocked revenues worth Rs 10 billion US dollars in 2008, in fact is planning to make Asia-Pacific its global business hub for its textile division and is targeting markets in India, China and other regions. “We have already shifted our global headquarters from Switzerland to Singapore. Asia has now become very important for our growth and it has become a battlefield for specialisation and innovation,” Hulme added.